Preface: This thread covers some of my frustrations as someone looking at the 436HP with a view to upgrading. If you don't like seeing some complaints (possibly rehashed), please skip the thread.
I'm a current BCD396XT owner. I feel that while it may have been a feature-packed scanner for its time, it was already aging badly on numerous fronts when I bought it some years back. Key complaints I had for the 396XT:
* Poor UI - A keypad full of overloaded buttons where everything including the volume knob performs multiple functions that can change depending on what the scanner happens to be doing at the time and/or whether or not you hit Function first.
* Poor display - Impossible to see all relevant information on screen at one time
* Rigid, limited program structure - Impossible to have more than 1000 talk groups on a system, programming in general could be a PITA for one location, let alone if you happen to travel a lot.
* A never ending stream of complaints about Simulcast performance.
So I had high hopes for Uniden to deliver something that solved a lot of these problems, but I find myself looking at the 436HP, watching the forums here, and despairing because _in theory_ I see great improvement in some areas that would make it worth it for me to upgrade, but paired with downright poor decisions in so many places I feel like I would either be frustsrated to no end or regret dropping the cash on this.
The biggest pro I see in the the 436HP is having the RR db (effectively) on the unit, and to be able to go anywhere and quickly be set up with all the relevant local systems without spending an hour or more hooked up to a PC wrestling with programming software that looks like it was designed for Windows 3.1 and without trying to split up TGs into batches of 1000 or less. Hallelujah!
... but wait. This thing doesn't have built-in GPS for that yet? Practically any device I buy now has GPS built-in. My phone. My tablet.. everything. It amazes me that Uniden has launched a brand new $500+ device without this, when it would have added so much value given the RR db is onboard. Instead I have to buy an $80 receiver and have it dangle from the unit? I'm somewhat in disbelief at this.
And let's talk about problems with the SD card. I've read threads here about cards getting wiped if the power dips out (doesn't this thing have batteries in it?). I've read threads where after some number of recordings are made to the SD card the unit starts missing the beginning of conversations until the recordings are erased (maybe it spends too long looking for a new free file name, who knows..).
The keypad looks like it is probably overloaded like the older model, but at least the display is larger and there is more useful information persisted. Except wait again - there are numerous people complaining about the backlight color, glare, viewing angle, and a whole thread of people griping about dust intrusion after only a few months with some fairly nasty pictures to back them up.
And now let's talk about wifi - it's only on the 536HP? Why?! Don't you realize the value you add to me as a potential buyer by making the scanner controllable from my smartphone, or even my laptop without having to plug it in? This _solves_ the problem of your overloaded keypad UI, because I can just control it from my smartphone. It's unbelievable to me that only one model has this feature. I feel like your scanners are stuck in a bygone era where things are controlled by keypads, displays are low resolution LEDs, wifi and GPS are dongles that you plug in. Here I am holding my smartphone, which cost less than this scanner does, and has built-in GPS, Wifi, a variety of radio modes, an entire app platform, 3D engine, high-res display, touch screen, cameras, microphones, bluetooth, accelerometers, the list goes on and on. When features like this are skimped I feel Uniden is so far out of touch with what I want that the void between my expectations and what their engineering team can actually deliver is too large to close. Some money could easily have been recovered through app sales, and you could have created a market for third-party apps built around your hardware, driving more demand for sales, if you want to look at it from a business perspective.
Speaking of power, do I understand correctly that in some modes you can't run the unit off AC while it's connected to a computer? My jaw hit the floor when I read this.
I read some other commentary about digital decoding formats (MOTOTRBO, etc.). I must say, I can accept that Uniden isn't providing support for these. _However_, you could certainly have helped to meet expectations and find a compromise by simply adding a discriminator tap as standard on the unit. Some people would never use it, fine. Others would be excited by the possibilities offered given that there is already community created software out there that could leverage such a feature from day 1. I certainly would see it as a plus point in a purchasing decision a) because I like to experiment/learn and b) from a future-proofing perspective.
But back to formats the scanner _does_ support, it truly boggles my mind to see more threads here seeking further improvements to simulcast decoding on the 436HP. People switching from NFM to FM, people switching from Auto to Manual tweaks because Auto mode isn't working. I'm looking at this and I have two questions:
1 - How does this continue to happen, given Uniden knew the attention it got in the old model
2 - Why aren't firmware updates more frequent/rapid?
I appreciate that Paul is here on the forums trying to gather information and solve problems where he can, but I can't help but imagine how upset I'd be if I had already spent over $500 only to be manually tweaking settings again per my 396XT while waiting on the next fw update, which could arrive god knows when due to the upman policy of not pre-announcing such things.
It boils down to this: I want so very badly to be able to justify a new Uniden scanner to myself, even if only for the RR db. But what I see coming out of Uniden is, in my eyes, a stream of poor decisions that just makes me believe I'll essentially be paying to frustrate myself.
And so, I would love to see a "Rev 2" of the 436HP, or otherwise a different model number, with:
* Fixed P25 bugs
* Non-glare display
* GPS
* Wifi
* Discriminator tap without need for modding
* SD card fixes (performance, integrity)
* Can be easily AC powered while connected to PC
* More frequent firmware drops, even if some of them are marked "beta" for the more adventurous folks
If none of these come then I am likely to stick with my 396XT for a while, despite its limitations.
I'm a current BCD396XT owner. I feel that while it may have been a feature-packed scanner for its time, it was already aging badly on numerous fronts when I bought it some years back. Key complaints I had for the 396XT:
* Poor UI - A keypad full of overloaded buttons where everything including the volume knob performs multiple functions that can change depending on what the scanner happens to be doing at the time and/or whether or not you hit Function first.
* Poor display - Impossible to see all relevant information on screen at one time
* Rigid, limited program structure - Impossible to have more than 1000 talk groups on a system, programming in general could be a PITA for one location, let alone if you happen to travel a lot.
* A never ending stream of complaints about Simulcast performance.
So I had high hopes for Uniden to deliver something that solved a lot of these problems, but I find myself looking at the 436HP, watching the forums here, and despairing because _in theory_ I see great improvement in some areas that would make it worth it for me to upgrade, but paired with downright poor decisions in so many places I feel like I would either be frustsrated to no end or regret dropping the cash on this.
The biggest pro I see in the the 436HP is having the RR db (effectively) on the unit, and to be able to go anywhere and quickly be set up with all the relevant local systems without spending an hour or more hooked up to a PC wrestling with programming software that looks like it was designed for Windows 3.1 and without trying to split up TGs into batches of 1000 or less. Hallelujah!
... but wait. This thing doesn't have built-in GPS for that yet? Practically any device I buy now has GPS built-in. My phone. My tablet.. everything. It amazes me that Uniden has launched a brand new $500+ device without this, when it would have added so much value given the RR db is onboard. Instead I have to buy an $80 receiver and have it dangle from the unit? I'm somewhat in disbelief at this.
And let's talk about problems with the SD card. I've read threads here about cards getting wiped if the power dips out (doesn't this thing have batteries in it?). I've read threads where after some number of recordings are made to the SD card the unit starts missing the beginning of conversations until the recordings are erased (maybe it spends too long looking for a new free file name, who knows..).
The keypad looks like it is probably overloaded like the older model, but at least the display is larger and there is more useful information persisted. Except wait again - there are numerous people complaining about the backlight color, glare, viewing angle, and a whole thread of people griping about dust intrusion after only a few months with some fairly nasty pictures to back them up.
And now let's talk about wifi - it's only on the 536HP? Why?! Don't you realize the value you add to me as a potential buyer by making the scanner controllable from my smartphone, or even my laptop without having to plug it in? This _solves_ the problem of your overloaded keypad UI, because I can just control it from my smartphone. It's unbelievable to me that only one model has this feature. I feel like your scanners are stuck in a bygone era where things are controlled by keypads, displays are low resolution LEDs, wifi and GPS are dongles that you plug in. Here I am holding my smartphone, which cost less than this scanner does, and has built-in GPS, Wifi, a variety of radio modes, an entire app platform, 3D engine, high-res display, touch screen, cameras, microphones, bluetooth, accelerometers, the list goes on and on. When features like this are skimped I feel Uniden is so far out of touch with what I want that the void between my expectations and what their engineering team can actually deliver is too large to close. Some money could easily have been recovered through app sales, and you could have created a market for third-party apps built around your hardware, driving more demand for sales, if you want to look at it from a business perspective.
Speaking of power, do I understand correctly that in some modes you can't run the unit off AC while it's connected to a computer? My jaw hit the floor when I read this.
I read some other commentary about digital decoding formats (MOTOTRBO, etc.). I must say, I can accept that Uniden isn't providing support for these. _However_, you could certainly have helped to meet expectations and find a compromise by simply adding a discriminator tap as standard on the unit. Some people would never use it, fine. Others would be excited by the possibilities offered given that there is already community created software out there that could leverage such a feature from day 1. I certainly would see it as a plus point in a purchasing decision a) because I like to experiment/learn and b) from a future-proofing perspective.
But back to formats the scanner _does_ support, it truly boggles my mind to see more threads here seeking further improvements to simulcast decoding on the 436HP. People switching from NFM to FM, people switching from Auto to Manual tweaks because Auto mode isn't working. I'm looking at this and I have two questions:
1 - How does this continue to happen, given Uniden knew the attention it got in the old model
2 - Why aren't firmware updates more frequent/rapid?
I appreciate that Paul is here on the forums trying to gather information and solve problems where he can, but I can't help but imagine how upset I'd be if I had already spent over $500 only to be manually tweaking settings again per my 396XT while waiting on the next fw update, which could arrive god knows when due to the upman policy of not pre-announcing such things.
It boils down to this: I want so very badly to be able to justify a new Uniden scanner to myself, even if only for the RR db. But what I see coming out of Uniden is, in my eyes, a stream of poor decisions that just makes me believe I'll essentially be paying to frustrate myself.
And so, I would love to see a "Rev 2" of the 436HP, or otherwise a different model number, with:
* Fixed P25 bugs
* Non-glare display
* GPS
* Wifi
* Discriminator tap without need for modding
* SD card fixes (performance, integrity)
* Can be easily AC powered while connected to PC
* More frequent firmware drops, even if some of them are marked "beta" for the more adventurous folks
If none of these come then I am likely to stick with my 396XT for a while, despite its limitations.
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